Head-rest.



J. L. UNDERWOOD,

HEAD REST.

APPLICATION man SEPT.3-Q. 1915.

1,257,427. Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

JOHN L. UNDERWOOD, OF SMITHFIELD, VIRGINIA.

- HEAD-REST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

Application filed September 30, 1915. Serial No. 53,216.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. UNnERwooo, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Underwood A ve., Smithfield, Virginia, where I am now living and receive mail, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Head-Rests, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to head-rests for dlfferent purposes, such as those used on barber chairs, on dentist chairs, by photographers, and also in operating rooms, and 1n any other situations where it is desirable to position or support the head in a comfortable and proper manner.

Generally stated, the object of my invention is to provide a head-rest having means for permitting free and easy adjustment thereof about an axis extending through the head and neck, whereby the head may be turned to either side in a. natural manner, and by a twisting of the neck about the natural center or axis thereof, thereby making it unnecessary to lift the head away from the rest when the barber, dentist or other person desires to change the position thereof, as will hereinafter more fully apear. P It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tendin to increase the general efficiency and deslrability of an oscillating head-rest of this particular character To these and other useful ends my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shownin the accompanying drawings, of which latter Figure l is a side elevation of the upper portion of a barber chair, showing the same equipped with a head-rest embodying the princlples of my inventlon.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section on line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is vertical section on line 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged rear elevation of a head-rest embodying the principles of my invention, and illustrating a different form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 4, being in the nature of a vertical section on line 66.

As thus illustrated, 1 to 3 inclusive, slide A having and referring to Figs.

my invention comprises a a rack a for engaging the dog or catch B provided on the back of the chair, whereby the said slide or supporting member A can be raised or lowered and held in different positions in the usual and well known manner. A curved guideway C is secured by a bracket 0 to the 11 per end of the slide A, and a curved guide D is arranged to slide in the said guideway, it being observed that the said guide is provided with a curved plate E having elastic material e stretched between the ends thereof. In cross section the said guide and-guideway are of a dove-tailed character, like those shown in Fig. 5, and with this construction the guide D is mounted to oscillate about an axis which extends through the head and neck of the person occupying the chair, whereby the head may be turned or twisted about a central axis which is approximately at the center of the neck. For this purpose a handle F is secured to the bottom of the plate E, and with the axis of adjustment thus located approximately at the center of the head and neck, the head rest thus provided will turn freely and be held stationary in the different positions thereof b the weight of the head resting thereon. crews G extend through the end portion of the guide D tosecure the plate E in position thereon, and bolts H extend through the end portions of the guideway C, the heads of said screws engaging said bolts and thus forming stops to limit the back and forth sliding movement of the dove-tailed guide in the guideway. If desired, rollers I can be mounted on the bolts H to engage the guide and reduce the friction, or an other form of anti-friction bearing can e employed, such as ordinary anti-friction balls or rollers, if such is desired. As stated, however, the devices thus provided for supporting the head-rest are of such character that the head of the person occupying the chair is turned from side to side in a natural manner, and by a natural twisting movement of the neck about a longitudinal axis approximately at the center thereof, depending upon how the head is positioned on the rest.

Ordinarily, of course, and with the old form of head-rest commonly employed for this purpose, the head must be lifted in order to change the position thereof, and this very often causes the occupant of the chair some discomfort and annoyance, asthe operator is not always careful. In the foregoing construction, however, the head is not lifted from the rest, and there is no necessity for friction or any rubbing of the head on the rest, because the rest oscillates or moves back and forth with the head. The head turns naturally, with an easy and comfortable and natural twisting of the neck, and the headrest oscillates or moves with the head. Consequently, the barber or other operator does not need to take hold of the head to change the position thereof, but simply manipulates the head-rest by grasping the handle on the lower side thereof.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, a pivotal connection J is provided between the upper end of the slide A and the bottom of the guideway 0, whereby the head-rest is tilted about a transverse and horizontal axis located directly under the head, thus making it possible to tilt the head forward and backward to suit the comfort and convenience of the person occupying the chair. Any suitable pivotal connection can be employed for this purpose, the one shown in the drawings comprising a pair of ears j which are spaced apart and suitably secured to the upper end of the slide A, and a flat lug K which is rigid with the guideway C and which is disposed fiatwise between the opposing surfaces of said cars. A thumb screw L, of any suitable character, extends through the sald ears and lug to form the pivot, and by tightening this thumb screw the guideway C may be firmly held in the desired position, inasmuch as the ears 9' can be slightly flexible to cause a clamping action when the screw 1s tightened. In other words, the ears j are flexed slightly and clamped against the opposite sides of the lug K when the screw L is tightened, and to change the position of the head-rest this screw is then loosened enough to permit the head-rest to tilt about the horizontal axis. When the proper position is found, the screw L is then agaln tlghtened to hold the head rest in the desired position. It will be understood, however, that any suitable swivel or pivotal connection can be employed for this purpose.

In Fig. 4 a plush cushion M is employed as a substitute for the elastic material 6 previously described. It will be understood, however, that any suitable means can be employed for engaging the head. The elastic material e can be employed in summer and the plush cushion M during cold weather, but other means can be employed. without departing from the spirit of invention.

As previously stated, my said invention is adapted to be employed for various purposes and I do not limit myself to any particular use. It can be used on barber chairs, dentist chairs, in the studios ofphotographers,

and in surgical operating rooms and in various other ways, and wherever it is desired to support or position the head and provide for the easy and comfortable shifting thereof into different positions.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the head-rest can be removed from the stationary support C without detaching the head-engaging-means from the rest, inasmuch as the stops H are removable to permit the heads of the screws G to slide through the groove. Thus, the head-rest can be removed in two ways, either by removing the stops H, or by removing the screws G, and in the latter event the head-engaging-means will be detached from the rest, but, as stated, the head-engaging-means (such as the strip e or the cushion M) are not removed when the stops H are removed, as this will permit the heads of the screws G to travel along in the groove of the member C until the head-rest is entirely disengaged therefrom. Again, it will be seen that the handle F serves like a pendulum to gravitate the headrest into central position, being centrally positioned on the head-rest immediately behind the supporting devices.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A head-rest comprising a rest for supporting the head, and means including a stationary member having a curved groove for loosely mounting said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis of the head, thereby to permit free turning of the head about said axis, means on the rest to engage the head, and devices in said member to permit removal of the rest without detaching said head-engaging-means therefrom.

2. A head-rest comprising a rest for su porting the head, and means for loose y mounting said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis of the head, said means including a rib curved about said axis and disposed on the bottom of said rest, a stationary support having a curved channel to receive said rib, said rib being longer than said channel to extend beyond the latter at each end and thereby afford the required range of oscillation, devices on the ends of said rib to enter said channel a distance, and stops spaced apart in said channel to engage said devices.

3. A head-rest comprising a rest for supporting the head, and means for loosely mounting said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis of the head, said means including a rib curved about said axis and. disposed on the bottom of said rest, a support having a curved channel to receive said rib, said rib being longer than said channel to aflord the required range of oscillation, devices on the ends of said rib to enter said channel and stops in said channel to engage said devices, said stops comprising removable bolts inserted transversel through said channel, below said rib, para lel with said axis, so that said rest is removable without disturbing said devices, and said devices consisting of radial screws having heads to engagesaid bolts.

4. A head-rest comprising a rest for supporting the head, and means for loosely mounting said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis of the head, said means including a rib curved about said axis and disposed on the bottom of said rest, a support having a curved channel to receive said rib, said rib being longer than said channel to afiord the required range of oscillation, devices on the ends of said rib to enter said channel, and stops in said channel to engagesaid devices, said stops comprising rollers arranged parallel with said axis and which enga e the bottom of said rib.

5. A hea -rest comprising a rest for supportin the head, and means for loosely mount ng said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis of the head, said means including a rib curved about said axis and disposed on the bottom of said rest, a support having a curved channel to receive said rib, said rib being longer than said channel to afford the required ran e of oscillation, devices on the ends of sai rib to enter said channel, stops in said channel to engage said devices, and a centrallylocated handle extending at right angles to said axis on the bottom of said rest, the lower end of said handle being below said support and tending by, its weight to gravitate said rest into central position.

6. A head-rest comprising a rest for supporting the head, means for loosely mounting said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis of the head, said means having rollers to facilitate the free oscillation of the rest, and means at opposite ends of said rest to engage said rollers and thereby limit the ran e of said oscillation, each roller being a com ined stop and rotary support for said rest.

7. A head-rest comprising a rest for su porting the head, and means for loosei mounting said rest to oscillate freely about the longitudinal center axis ofthe head, said means including a rib curved about said axis and disposed on the bottom of said rest, a stationary support having a curved channel to receive said rib, said rib being longer than said channel to extend be 0nd the latter at each end and thereby a 0rd the required range of oscillation, devices on the ends of said rib to enter said channel a distance, stops spaced apart in said channel to engage said devices, and a pivot for the bottom of said support to tilt the head-rest about a horizontal axis extending at right angles to said longitudinal axis.

Signed by me at Smithfield, Virginia, this 10 day of Sept, 1915.

' JOHN L. UNDERWOOD. Witnesses:

Gno. F. WHITLEY, EUGIE M. JoHNsoN. 

